Journal Articles by Andrea C Burrows Borowczak
RELEA - Revista Latino-Americana de Educacao em Astronomia, 2018
This article examines whether an active engagement kinesthetic classroom lesson or visual-immersi... more This article examines whether an active engagement kinesthetic classroom lesson or visual-immersive verbal-participatory planetarium lesson led to increased eclipse knowledge for students (aged 10-15 years) in the United States. Using a multiple-measures research design, a pre/post eclipse test and a three-part spatial ability test was administered to students who participated in either a kinesthetic classroom lesson (n=56) or visual-immersive planetarium lesson (n=82) about the nature of eclipses. Quantitative data was gathered immediately after the treatments, and again five months after the treatment. The authors compared each instructional treatment's effectiveness with students' spatial ability levels. A statistically significant increase in students' knowledge was observed in both treatments, but no statistically significant score difference between the two treatment groups. These results imply that students can increase their knowledge on eclipses independent of lesson style. Further results of this study strongly suggest that transformational spatial ability is related to learning about eclipses, independent of lesson pedagogy, as those students with higher spatial abilities exhibited higher achievements. Resumo: Este artigo examina se uma aula de sala de aula cinestésica de engajamento ativo ou uma lição de planetário verbal-participativa e visual-imersiva levou ao aumento do conhecimento sobre o eclipse para os alunos (com idade entre 10 e 15 anos) nos Estados Unidos. Utilizando um desenho de pesquisa de múltiplas medidas, um teste pré/pós eclipse e um teste de capacidade espacial de três partes foi aplicado aos alunos que participaram ou da lição de sala de aula cinestésica (n = 56) ou lição planetária imersiva visual (n = 82) sobre a natureza dos eclipses. Os dados quantitativos foram coletados imediatamente após os tratamentos, e novamente cinco meses após o tratamento. Os autores compararam a eficácia de cada tratamento instrucional com os níveis de habilidade espacial dos alunos. Um aumento estatisticamente significativo no conhecimento dos alunos foi observado em ambos os tratamentos, mas não houve diferença estatisticamente significativa na pontuação entre os dois grupos de tratamento. Estes resultados implicam que os estudantes podem aumentar seus conhecimentos sobre eclipses independentemente do estilo de aula. Outros resultados deste estudo sugerem fortemente que a capacidade espacial transformacional está relacionada ao aprendizado sobre eclipses, independente da pedagogia da lição, já que aqueles com maior capacidade espacial apresentam maiores aproveitamentos. Palavras-chave: Educação em astronomia; Pedagogia; Habilidade de pensamento espacial; Ciência, tecnologia, engenharia e matemática; Aprendizagem cinestésica. Resumen: Este artículo examina si una clase cinestésica de compromiso activo o una visita a un planetario verbal-participativa y visual-inmersiva llevó al aumento del conocimiento sobre el eclipse para alumnos con edades entre 10 y 15 años en los Estados Unidos. Utilizando un esquema de investigación de múltiples medidas, una prueba pre/post eclipse y una prueba de capacidad espacial de tres partes se aplicaron a los alumnos que participaron o de la clase cinestésica (n = 56) o visita al planetario inmersiva visual (n = 82) sobre la naturaleza de los eclipses. Los datos cuantitativos se recogieron inmediatamente después de los tratamientos, y nuevamente cinco meses después del tratamiento. Los autores compararon la eficacia de cada tratamiento instruccional con los niveles de habilidad espacial de los alumnos. Un aumento estadísticamente significativo en el conocimiento de los alumnos fue observado en ambos tratamientos, pero no hubo diferencia estadísticamente significativa en la puntuación entre los dos grupos de tratamiento. Estos resultados implican que los estudiantes pueden aumentar sus conocimientos sobre los eclipses independientemente del estilo de clase. Otros resultados de este estudio sugieren fuertemente que la capacidad espacial transformacional está relacionada al aprendizaje sobre eclipses, independientemente de la pedagogía de la lección, ya que aquellos con mayor capacidad espacial presentan mejores aprovechamientos.
Education Sciences, 2019
The purpose of this study was to describe how US secondary science preservice teachers, or those ... more The purpose of this study was to describe how US secondary science preservice teachers, or those preparing to teach middle and high school science, at one university, perceive engineering and teaching engineering within an epistemological framework of required domain components pre-and post-instruction (intervention) as well as over three cohort years. Their perceptions reveal relevant prior beliefs helpful for designing instruction to address an external need to prepare secondary science teachers to teach disciplinary content ideas, cross-cutting concepts, and science and engineering practices to meet the Next Generation Science Standards. Questionnaires administered pre-and post-instruction (intervention), as well as over three years, asked participants to decide whether various scenarios qualified as engineering and then to provide reasoning. Intervention instruction included whole-class discussions of engineering design practices. The responses to the questionnaire were analyzed for thematic content. The results indicate that the secondary science preservice teachers (n = 43) have a novice understanding of engineering and teaching engineering. They gain an emerging understanding during the secondary science methods courses, consistent in all three years with expanding perspectives from narrow discipline views. As their perceptions are refined, however, there are risks of oversimplification, which may lead to forming misconceptions. The recommendations for designing instruction such as secondary science methods courses and early career professional development include creating opportunities for preservice and early career teachers to explore and challenge their perceptions of engineering design practices integrated within science and engineering practices.
Education Sciences, 2019
There is a clear call for pre-collegiate students in the United States to become literate in comp... more There is a clear call for pre-collegiate students in the United States to become literate in computer science (CS) concepts and practices through integrated, authentic experiences and instruction. Yet, a majority of in-service and pre-service pre-collegiate teachers (instructing children aged five to 18) lack the fundamental skills and self-efficacy to adequately and effectively integrate CS into existing curricula. In this study, 30 pre-collegiate teachers who represent a wide band of experience, grade-levels, and prior CS familiarity participated in a 16-day professional development (PD) course to enhance their content knowledge and self-efficacy in integrating CS into existing lessons and curricula. Using both qualitative and quantitative methodology, a social constructivist approach guided the researchers in the development of the PD, as well as the data collection and analysis on teacher content knowledge and perceptions through a mixed-methods study. Ultimately, participants were introduced to CS concepts and practices through NetLogo, which is a popular multi-agent simulator. The results show that although the pre-collegiate teachers adopted CS instruction, the CS implementation within their curricula was limited to the activities and scope of the PD with few adaptations and minimal systemic change in implementation behaviors.
Educational Action Research, 2019
This article explores one group’s use of action research (AR) and lesson study in three US univer... more This article explores one group’s use of action research (AR) and lesson study in three US university-level computer science courses affecting 85 undergraduate computer science and engineering students. It offers an overview of three areas including AR, lesson study, and engineering soft skills. The research group identified a problem: undergraduate engineering student soft skill understanding. The group collaborated to enhance participant engagement with this problem by utilizing one lesson focused on soft skills over three research lesson iterations in three distinct university semesters (2017-2018). Field notes were the main data collection method. Observational field notes were recorded in the three research lesson iterations, and themes from the notes were identified. The group valued peer interactions, and the research lesson adaptations as well as pedagogical changes were based on evidence. Four themes were identified, and participant comments were considered as the lessons became more focused. The research group argues that AR and lesson study are separate and distinct ventures based on this yearlong experience, which is counter to some other literature presented. Implications are large for all stakeholders interested in AR, lesson study, soft skill utilization, conflict management, and participant learning impact. Possibilities for enhanced participant engagement exists with honed lesson pedagogy.
International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning (IJMBL), 2020
The purpose of this systematic study review was to describe how researchers integrated mobile dev... more The purpose of this systematic study review was to describe how researchers integrated mobile devices into outdoor science learning, assessment of those activities, and alignment of purpose, integration, and assessment. From initial 980 search results, the authors selected 45 articles based on the eligibility criteria of: (a) empirical study; (b) learning activity with science content; (c) outdoor setting; (d) mobile device integration; and (e) assessement. Researchers designed outdoor science learning activities integrated with mobile devices for the purposes of science knowledge gain, affective domain gain, and scientific inquiry. Researchers aligned components of scientific inquiry including hypothesis formation, observation, data collection and interpretation, and communication and collaboration. Conclusions describe benefits to integrating mobile devices with outdoor science learning activities by supporting scientific inquiry skill development. Alignment of purpose and assessment provides evidence of student learning important in meeting accountability standards.
Research in Science and Technological Education, 2020
Background: Dataset skills are used in STEM fields from astronomy to zoology. Few fields explicit... more Background: Dataset skills are used in STEM fields from astronomy to zoology. Few fields explicitly teach students the skills to analyze datasets, and yet the increasing push for authentic science implies these skills should be taught.
Purpose: The overarching motivation of this work is to understand authentic science learning of STEM dataset skills within an astronomy context. Specifically, when participants work with a 200-entry Google Sheets dataset of astronomical data, what are they learning, how are they learning it, and who is doing the learning?
Sample: The authors studied a total of 82 post-secondary participants, including a matched set of 54 pre/post-test (34 males, 18 females), 26 video recorded (22 males, 2 females), and 3 interviewed (2 males, 1 female) participants.
Design and methods: In this mixed-methods study, participants explored a three-phase dataset activity and were given an eight-question multiple-choice pre/post-test covering skills of analyzing datasets and astronomy content, with the cognitive load of questions spanning from recognition of terms through synthesizing multiple ideas. Pre/post-test scores were compared and ANOVA performed for subsamples by gender. Select examples of qualitative data are shown, including written answers to questions, video recordings, and interviews.
Results: This project expands existing literature on authentic science experiences into the domain of dataset education in astronomy. Participants exhibited learning in both recall and synthesis questions. Females exhibited lower levels of learning than males which could be connected to gender influence. Conversations of both males and females included gendered topics.
Conclusions: Implications of the study include a stronger dataset focus in post-secondary STEM education, and the need for further investigation into how instructors can ameliorate the challenges faced by female post-secondary students.
Journal of Technology and Science Education, 2021
An authentic, interdisciplinary, research and problem-based integrated science, technology, engin... more An authentic, interdisciplinary, research and problem-based integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) project may be ideal for encouraging scientific inquiry and developing teamwork among undergraduate students, but it also presents challenges. The authors describe how two interdisciplinary teams (n=6) of undergraduate college students built integrated STEM projects in a research based internship setting, and then collaboratively brought the project to fruition to include designing lessons and activities shared with K-12 students in a classroom setting. Each three person undergraduate team consisted of two STEM majors and one Education major. The Education majors are a special focus for this study. Interviews, field observations, and lesson plan artifacts collected from the undergraduate college students were analyzed according to authenticity factors, the authentic scientific inquiry instrument, and an integrated STEM instrument. The authors highlight areas of strength and weakness for both teams and explore how preservice teachers contributed to integrated STEM products and lessons. Teacher educators might apply recommendations for teacher preparation and professional development when facilitating authentic scientific inquiry and integrated STEM topics with both STEM and non-STEM educators. Undergraduate college students were challenged to fully integrate the STEM disciplines, transitions between them, and the spaces between them where multiple disciplines existed. By describing the challenges of integrating the spaces between STEM, the authors offer a description of the undergraduate college students' experiences in an effort to expand the common message beyond a flat approach of try this activity because it works, to a more robust message of try this type of engagement and purposefully organize for maximum results.
Education Sciences, 2020
Research on innovative, integrated outreach programs guided three separate week-long outreach cam... more Research on innovative, integrated outreach programs guided three separate week-long outreach camps held across two summers (2018 and 2019). These camps introduced computer science through real-world applications and hands-on activities, each dealing with cybersecurity principles. The camps utilized low-cost hardware and free software to provide a total of 84 students (aged 10 to 18 years) a unique learning experience. Based on feedback from the 2018 camp, a new pre/post survey was developed to assess changes in participant knowledge and interest. Student participants in the 2019 iteration showed drastic changes in their cybersecurity content recall (33% pre vs. 96% post), cybersecurity concept identification within real-world scenarios, and exhibited an increased ability to recognize potential cybersecurity threats in their everyday lives (22% pre vs. 69% post). Finally, students' self-reported interest-level before and after the camp show a positive increase across all student participants, with the number of students who where highly interested in cybersecurity more than doubling from 31% pre-camp to 65% post-camp. Implications for educators are large as these activities and experiences can be interwoven into traditional schooling as well as less formal camps as pure computer science or through integrated STEM.
Education Sciences, 2021
This study compares three pre-collegiate teacher professional learning and development (PLD) inte... more This study compares three pre-collegiate teacher professional learning and development (PLD) integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) experiences framed in astronomy. The study is set in the western United States (USA) and involves 60 pre-collegiate teachers (in the USA these are K-12 teachers) over the course of three years (June 2014–May 2017). During the PLDs, astronomy acted as a vehicle for pre-collegiate STEM teachers to increase their STEM content knowledge as well as create and implement integrated STEM classroom lessons. The authors collected quantitative and qualitative data to address five research questions and embraced social constructionism as the theoretical framework. Findings show that STEM pre-collegiate teachers are largely engaged with integrated STEM PLD content and embrace astronomy content and authentic science. Importantly, they need time to practice, interpret, translate, and use the integrated STEM content in classroom lessons. Recommendations for PLD STEM teacher support are provided. Implications of this study are vast, as gaps in authentic science, utilizing astronomy, PLD structure, and STEM integration are ripe for exploration.
Citation: Burrows, A.C.; Borowczak, M.; Myers, A.; Schwortz, A.C.; McKim, C. Integrated STEM for Teacher Professional Learning and Development: "I Need Time for Practice". Educ. Sci. 2021, 11, 21.
Journal of Science Education and Technology, 2018
There is a current national emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).... more There is a current national emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Additionally, many states are transitioning to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which encourage teachers to incorporate engineering in science classrooms as well as have their students learn science by doing science. Methods courses are also shifting to adequately prepare preservice science teachers in these areas. This study examines preservice science teachers’ pre- and post-ideal inquiry-based lesson plan scenarios before and after intervention in their Secondary Science Methods I and II courses. These preservice science teachers participated in a variety of opportunities to practice authentic science inquiry (ASI) pedagogical techniques as well as integrated STEM topics, with a particular emphasis on computer programming throughout their 80 h of Methods instruction. ASI is a type of inquiry where students learn science by conducting science research in a grade-appropriate manner. Thirty-eight preservice teachers’ scenarios were analyzed using a rubric from Spuck (2014) to determine the degree to which the ten components of ASI were included in scenarios pre- to post-instruction. Trends in ASI component inclusion are discussed. These findings indicate that preservice science teachers are proficient at writing inquiry-based lessons where they planned opportunities for their future students to collaborate, use scientific instrumentation, and collect and analyze data, but need additional support with developing student activities where students create testable questions, revise their question and methods, participate in peer review, and disseminate their results to their peers or the larger scientific community. Overall, the results suggest Methods instruction should reinforce preservice teachers’ focus on planning lessons which include opportunities for all ASI components. Interventions in the aforementioned areas of weak inclusion may be beneficial to preservice teachers.
Research on teaching through discipline integration is currently emphasized as a gap in education... more Research on teaching through discipline integration is currently emphasized as a gap in educational literature, and this study bridges discipline silos between the arts and sciences by indicating how science and art compliment content learning. A study of secondary education pre-service teachers (3 years, n = 52) participating in a science/art integration unit the semester before their last college experience, explores how integrated sessions capture both scientific and artistic discipline concepts. A mixed methods research approach measured changes in confidence of science and art knowledge, skills, and experiences of the participants. Quantitative and qualitative data support increased awareness and confidence in pre-service teachers' perceptions of how science and art can be incorporated into pre-collegiate classrooms, recognition of discipline similarities, and significant common themes when teaching both disciplines together. The researchers utilized a social constructivist framework with the qualitative data. Conclusions and implications include: 1) instructors can provide examples and modeling of interdisciplinary learning, which inspire pre-service teachers to explore new integrated disciplines in their own future classrooms, and 2) instructors can influence perspectives of pre-service teachers by offering integrated units, which produces open-mindedness of future teachers to use various teaching strategies.
Increases in student-centered pedagogy have been more prevalent in K–12 education than in collegi... more Increases in student-centered pedagogy have been more prevalent in K–12 education than in collegiate undergraduate science education. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of using student-centered pedagogy advocated in K–12 education on introductory astronomy students’ content knowledge, interest, and recall of content taught in the semester. Forty-two students participated in the study and took the Test Of Astronomy STandards (TOAST) at the beginning and end of the semester. The students had an average initial TOAST score of 37% and a post-TOAST score of 62%; this is higher than the national average for college students and in-service teachers. Students also participated in surveys reporting their interest in astronomy, whether their interest in astronomy changed, and what they remembered from the course. Students (79%) reported the class increased their interest in astronomy in a survey given at the end of the semester. Students reported remembering the active learning activities more than astronomical facts. These results show encouraging results for creating and implementing student centered pedagogical techniques in college science courses of all disciplines.
French, D., & Burrows, A. C. (2017). Inquiring astronomy: Incorporating student-centered pedagogical techniques in an introductory college science course. Journal of College Science Teaching, 46(4), 24-32
Physics of the 20th century has contributed significantly to modern technology, and yet many phys... more Physics of the 20th century has contributed significantly to modern technology, and yet many physics students are never availed the opportunity to study it as part of the curriculum. One of the possible reasons why it is not taught in high school and introductory physics courses could be because curriculum designers believe that students need a solid background in classical mechanics and calculus in order to study physics of the 20th century such as the photoelectric effect, special and general relativity, the uncertainty principle, etc. This presumption may not be justifiable or valid. The authors of this paper contend that teaching physics of the 20th century aids students in relating physics to modern technology and the real world, making studying physics exciting. In this study, the authors correlated scores for matched questions in the Mechanics Baseline Test and a physics of the 20th century test in order to examine the trend of the scores. The participants included undergraduate students attending an introductory algebra-based physics course with no intention of taking physics at a higher level. The analysis of the scores showed no significant correlation for any of the matched pairs of questions. The purpose of this article is to recommend that even without a solid background in classical mechanics, teachers can introduce physics of the 20th century to their students for increased interest.
The authors use an action research (AR) approach in a collegiate studio physics class to investig... more The authors use an action research (AR) approach in a collegiate studio physics class to investigate the power of partnerships via conferences as they relate to issues of establishing a student/mentor rapport, empowering students to reduce inequity, and the successes and barriers to hearing students’ voices. The graduate teaching assistant (TA, Author 1) conducted one-on-one conferences with 29 students, elicited student opinions about the progress of the course, and talked with faculty, TAs, and an undergraduate supplemental instructor for other sections of the course. At the end of the semester, the students reported increased knowledge of the TA as a person and as an instructor, and vice versa. Sixty-five percent of students reported no interest in changing circumstances to make it easier to talk about personal concerns with the TA. College students reluctantly voiced their opinions about the course, possibly due to the power structure of the classroom. Other TAs in the department expressed mostly disinterest in the project, while faculty members were interested in student learning but skeptical of student empowerment. A case study of one student is presented, wherein his attendance improved in the course and he received additional help outside class, both possibly as a result of the student/TA conferences. Students in this studio physics section were more likely to interact directly with faculty or TAs during lectures, but less likely to do so during lab sessions, than were students in a non-studio physics section.
[Final abstract above; file is pre-print]
This paper contains interactive graphs, as well as access to raw data, use the link to the CITE J... more This paper contains interactive graphs, as well as access to raw data, use the link to the CITE Journal for the interactive experience.
http://www.citejournal.org/volume-16/issue-2-16/science/enabling-collaboration-and-video-assessment-exposing-trends-in-science-preservice-teachers-assessments/
This article details a new, free resource for continuous video assessment named YouDemo. The tool enables real time rating of uploaded YouTube videos for use in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and beyond. The authors discuss trends of preservice science teachers’ assessments of self- and peer-created videos using the tool. The trends were identified from over 900 assessments of 170 videos, with over 131 unique users. Included in this data set is a 2-year study focusing on 27 preservice science teachers (from a 5-year study of 76 total science preservice teachers) and their use of the tool. The authors collected both quantitative (numerical scores) and qualitative data (open-ended questions) from the 27 participants. Findings show that (a) rating two metrics had a non-zero bias between the two metrics; (b) preservice teachers found continuous video rating beneficial in enabling video assessment, promoting critical thinking, and increasing engagement; and (c) preservice teacher’s self-assessment was uncorrelated with their peers’ assessment. Additionally, the elements to enable skill improvement were met, including (a) a well defined task, (b) a challenging task, (c) immediate feedback, (d) error correction, and (e) practice. Implications include improvement in preservice teacher reflection and discussions, especially related to STEM content and pedagogy.
Twenty-three pre-collegiate educators of elementary students (ages 5-10 years) and secondary stud... more Twenty-three pre-collegiate educators of elementary students (ages 5-10 years) and secondary students (ages 11-18 years) attended a two-week science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) astronomy focused professional development in the summer of 2015 with activities focused on authentic science experiences, inquiry, and partnership building. 'Authentic' in this research refers to scientific skills and are defined. The study explores the authentic science education experience of the pre-collegiate educators, detailing the components of authentic science as seen through a social constructionism lens. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, the researchers analyzed the successes and challenges of pre-collegiate science and mathematics educators when immersed in STEM and astronomy authentic science practices, the educators' perceptions before and after the authentic science practices, and the educators' performance on pre to post content tests during the authentic science practices. Findings show that the educators were initially engaged, then disengaged, and then finally re-engaged with the authentic experience. Qualitative responses are shared, as are the significant results of the quantitative pre to post content learning scores of the educators. Conclusions include the necessity for PD team delivery of detailed explanations to the participants-before, during, and after – for the entire authentic science experience and partnership building processes. Furthermore, expert structure and support is vital for participant research question generation, data collection, and data analysis (successes, failures, and reattempts). Overall, in order to include authentic science in pre-collegiate classrooms, elementary and secondary educators need experience, instruction, scaffolding, and continued support with the STM processes.
This theoretical position paper proposes a novel and actionable framework for analyzing and enhan... more This theoretical position paper proposes a novel and actionable framework for analyzing and enhancing future teachers' level of complexity in integrating knowledge, skills, and attitudes across science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Using a lens of pedagogical content knowledge, conventional STEM teacher preparation efforts focus on learning how to best teach isolated scientific disciplines separately. In contrast, recent calls for education reform emphasize the need for the next generation of teachers to be cross-trained across disciplines and having the ability to integrate the STEM disciplines as iSTEM. This is a challenge because most teachers have only received training in one or two disciplines, and no formal training on integrating the STEM disciplines cohesively. In response, we propose a hierarchical conceptual framework to guide and assess the preparation of teachers to teach through a more contemporary lens of STEM as a fully integrated domain to advance STEM across educational systems.
In this article, the authors describe experiences in and offer suggestions from a course entitled... more In this article, the authors describe experiences in and offer suggestions from a course entitled ‘Educational Innovation for Excellence Through Action Research, Conflict Resolution, and Organizational Learning’ – an action evaluation (AE). The class was taught using the principles of action research and AE. The authors explore the impact that the course had on the their personal perceptions and classmates’ perceptions of AE, grapple with the criteria for what constituted a shared definition of ‘success’ in the course, and offer a critical lens for viewing educational evaluation as a means to continued self reflection or reflexivity. The theoretical framework utilized is symbolic interactionism and critical pedagogy. The process of AE, including resonance, positive disruptions, reflexivity, and conflict resolution, is discussed within the authors’ narratives. Action evaluation is revealed as the complex process of joining sometimes apparently disjointed
participants as unlikely partners to create change. This study helps
to fill a gap of enriching action research with narratives, by exploring AE through reflection, and by creating discussion regarding critical pedagogy and social change. Implications for a wide audience include suggested conflict resolution strategies and examples of evaluation uses for instructors in numerous classes. Recommendations for AE implementation and strategies to promote social change – including core values of democratic participation, community empowerment, and social justice – are also presented.
While it can take different forms, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) K-12 ... more While it can take different forms, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) K-12 teacher professional development (PD) is important around the world. Though all stakeholders play critical roles in PDs, the author focuses on the larger system that supports the PDs. As such, this research study focuses on the PD results, but also on the explanation of the systemic nature of the PDs studied. Partnerships, including building of relationships, are explored in that system. In this mixed methods study of two K-12 teacher PDs (n=31 and 19 total PD days), conducted in the western United States, the author utilizes quantitative and qualitative data collection methods to reinforce quality PD practices and suggested strategies. Results indicate that 90% of the K-12 teachers were highly engaged in the STEM content and partnership building. Pre to post K-12 teacher perception scores regarding astronomy use in STEM content courses showed noteworthy improvement from 16% to 84%. Furthermore, K-12 teacher perceptions regarding creation of partnerships and collaborations rose from 26% to 90%. Other findings showcase themes of reflection, collaboration, STEM integration, and inquiry as well as a need for partnership building time. Overall, when the K-12 teachers worked together in a structured PD over an academic year (2014-2015) for a selection of 19 days (13 summer days and 6 Saturdays during the academic year) partnerships were formed and provided added organization for the PD system. Faculty/PD team communications and continuous K-12 teacher support were also critical factors for systemic PD success. Access to K-12 teacher created lesson plans that use astronomy as a vehicle for STEM lessons can be accessed free of charge at the following websites:
http://physics.uwyo.edu/~mike/workshop/index.html and http://www.physics.uwyo.edu/~aschwortz/LASSI/
Key words: teacher professional development, systemic nature, partnership, reflection, inquiry.
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Journal Articles by Andrea C Burrows Borowczak
Purpose: The overarching motivation of this work is to understand authentic science learning of STEM dataset skills within an astronomy context. Specifically, when participants work with a 200-entry Google Sheets dataset of astronomical data, what are they learning, how are they learning it, and who is doing the learning?
Sample: The authors studied a total of 82 post-secondary participants, including a matched set of 54 pre/post-test (34 males, 18 females), 26 video recorded (22 males, 2 females), and 3 interviewed (2 males, 1 female) participants.
Design and methods: In this mixed-methods study, participants explored a three-phase dataset activity and were given an eight-question multiple-choice pre/post-test covering skills of analyzing datasets and astronomy content, with the cognitive load of questions spanning from recognition of terms through synthesizing multiple ideas. Pre/post-test scores were compared and ANOVA performed for subsamples by gender. Select examples of qualitative data are shown, including written answers to questions, video recordings, and interviews.
Results: This project expands existing literature on authentic science experiences into the domain of dataset education in astronomy. Participants exhibited learning in both recall and synthesis questions. Females exhibited lower levels of learning than males which could be connected to gender influence. Conversations of both males and females included gendered topics.
Conclusions: Implications of the study include a stronger dataset focus in post-secondary STEM education, and the need for further investigation into how instructors can ameliorate the challenges faced by female post-secondary students.
Citation: Burrows, A.C.; Borowczak, M.; Myers, A.; Schwortz, A.C.; McKim, C. Integrated STEM for Teacher Professional Learning and Development: "I Need Time for Practice". Educ. Sci. 2021, 11, 21.
French, D., & Burrows, A. C. (2017). Inquiring astronomy: Incorporating student-centered pedagogical techniques in an introductory college science course. Journal of College Science Teaching, 46(4), 24-32
[Final abstract above; file is pre-print]
http://www.citejournal.org/volume-16/issue-2-16/science/enabling-collaboration-and-video-assessment-exposing-trends-in-science-preservice-teachers-assessments/
This article details a new, free resource for continuous video assessment named YouDemo. The tool enables real time rating of uploaded YouTube videos for use in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and beyond. The authors discuss trends of preservice science teachers’ assessments of self- and peer-created videos using the tool. The trends were identified from over 900 assessments of 170 videos, with over 131 unique users. Included in this data set is a 2-year study focusing on 27 preservice science teachers (from a 5-year study of 76 total science preservice teachers) and their use of the tool. The authors collected both quantitative (numerical scores) and qualitative data (open-ended questions) from the 27 participants. Findings show that (a) rating two metrics had a non-zero bias between the two metrics; (b) preservice teachers found continuous video rating beneficial in enabling video assessment, promoting critical thinking, and increasing engagement; and (c) preservice teacher’s self-assessment was uncorrelated with their peers’ assessment. Additionally, the elements to enable skill improvement were met, including (a) a well defined task, (b) a challenging task, (c) immediate feedback, (d) error correction, and (e) practice. Implications include improvement in preservice teacher reflection and discussions, especially related to STEM content and pedagogy.
participants as unlikely partners to create change. This study helps
to fill a gap of enriching action research with narratives, by exploring AE through reflection, and by creating discussion regarding critical pedagogy and social change. Implications for a wide audience include suggested conflict resolution strategies and examples of evaluation uses for instructors in numerous classes. Recommendations for AE implementation and strategies to promote social change – including core values of democratic participation, community empowerment, and social justice – are also presented.
http://physics.uwyo.edu/~mike/workshop/index.html and http://www.physics.uwyo.edu/~aschwortz/LASSI/
Key words: teacher professional development, systemic nature, partnership, reflection, inquiry.
Purpose: The overarching motivation of this work is to understand authentic science learning of STEM dataset skills within an astronomy context. Specifically, when participants work with a 200-entry Google Sheets dataset of astronomical data, what are they learning, how are they learning it, and who is doing the learning?
Sample: The authors studied a total of 82 post-secondary participants, including a matched set of 54 pre/post-test (34 males, 18 females), 26 video recorded (22 males, 2 females), and 3 interviewed (2 males, 1 female) participants.
Design and methods: In this mixed-methods study, participants explored a three-phase dataset activity and were given an eight-question multiple-choice pre/post-test covering skills of analyzing datasets and astronomy content, with the cognitive load of questions spanning from recognition of terms through synthesizing multiple ideas. Pre/post-test scores were compared and ANOVA performed for subsamples by gender. Select examples of qualitative data are shown, including written answers to questions, video recordings, and interviews.
Results: This project expands existing literature on authentic science experiences into the domain of dataset education in astronomy. Participants exhibited learning in both recall and synthesis questions. Females exhibited lower levels of learning than males which could be connected to gender influence. Conversations of both males and females included gendered topics.
Conclusions: Implications of the study include a stronger dataset focus in post-secondary STEM education, and the need for further investigation into how instructors can ameliorate the challenges faced by female post-secondary students.
Citation: Burrows, A.C.; Borowczak, M.; Myers, A.; Schwortz, A.C.; McKim, C. Integrated STEM for Teacher Professional Learning and Development: "I Need Time for Practice". Educ. Sci. 2021, 11, 21.
French, D., & Burrows, A. C. (2017). Inquiring astronomy: Incorporating student-centered pedagogical techniques in an introductory college science course. Journal of College Science Teaching, 46(4), 24-32
[Final abstract above; file is pre-print]
http://www.citejournal.org/volume-16/issue-2-16/science/enabling-collaboration-and-video-assessment-exposing-trends-in-science-preservice-teachers-assessments/
This article details a new, free resource for continuous video assessment named YouDemo. The tool enables real time rating of uploaded YouTube videos for use in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and beyond. The authors discuss trends of preservice science teachers’ assessments of self- and peer-created videos using the tool. The trends were identified from over 900 assessments of 170 videos, with over 131 unique users. Included in this data set is a 2-year study focusing on 27 preservice science teachers (from a 5-year study of 76 total science preservice teachers) and their use of the tool. The authors collected both quantitative (numerical scores) and qualitative data (open-ended questions) from the 27 participants. Findings show that (a) rating two metrics had a non-zero bias between the two metrics; (b) preservice teachers found continuous video rating beneficial in enabling video assessment, promoting critical thinking, and increasing engagement; and (c) preservice teacher’s self-assessment was uncorrelated with their peers’ assessment. Additionally, the elements to enable skill improvement were met, including (a) a well defined task, (b) a challenging task, (c) immediate feedback, (d) error correction, and (e) practice. Implications include improvement in preservice teacher reflection and discussions, especially related to STEM content and pedagogy.
participants as unlikely partners to create change. This study helps
to fill a gap of enriching action research with narratives, by exploring AE through reflection, and by creating discussion regarding critical pedagogy and social change. Implications for a wide audience include suggested conflict resolution strategies and examples of evaluation uses for instructors in numerous classes. Recommendations for AE implementation and strategies to promote social change – including core values of democratic participation, community empowerment, and social justice – are also presented.
http://physics.uwyo.edu/~mike/workshop/index.html and http://www.physics.uwyo.edu/~aschwortz/LASSI/
Key words: teacher professional development, systemic nature, partnership, reflection, inquiry.
perspective, emulsions turn two liquid phases into what
appears to be one continuous phase through the use of
surfactants. This lesson, created by a chemical
engineering graduate student, allows the secondary
students to observe this phenomenon in the
transformation of vinegar, oil, and egg yolks into
mayonnaise. The students, juniors at Western Hills
Engineering High School, also see the distinct phases of a
colored water and oil in a lava lamp and see the phases
turn into what appears to be one phase as soap is added
the solution. Assessments show the students’ ability to
explain how soap washes away dirt, draw the chemical
components of the emulsion and relate the same
chemistry to surfactants used in the Gulf oil spill
cleanup. The application of emulsions to protein
separation research for pharmaceutical purposes was
also discussed.
I used a qualitative descriptive case study methodology. I conducted nine interviews, four focus groups, 33 classroom field note observations, and collected emails. I detailed each of the three cases, and I conducted a cross case analysis of the three schools. I compared the similarities and differences between the cases in order to understand the partnership themes that defined a specific case and those that were generalized to several cases.
Using grounded theory, my overall findings showed that each case generated six themes. These themes included product, perspective, expectations, decision making, relationships, and habit. I explored all six themes in current literature, and five of the six themes were prevalent there. In my study, habit was the core phenomenon but was not as common in the literature. It was related to the socio-cognitive theory of knowledge construction and Bourdieu’s habitus. Additionally, it was connected to the concept of change in partnerships.
research. Few fields explicitly teach students the skills to analyze datasets, and yet the increasing push for authentic science implies these skills should be taught.
Purpose: The overarching motivation is to understand learning of dataset skills within an astronomy context. Specifically, when participants work with a 200-entry Google Sheets dataset of astronomical data, what are they learning, how are they learning it, and who is doing the learning?
Sample: The authors studied a matched set of participants (n=87) consisting of 54 university undergraduate students (34 male, 18 female), and 33 science educators (16 male, 17 female).

Running Head: STEM Datasets 2
Design and methods: Participants explored a three-phase dataset activity and were given an eight-question multiple-choice pre/post-test covering skills of analyzing datasets and astronomy content, with questions spanning Bloom’s Taxonomy. Pre/post-test scores were compared and a t-test performed for subsamples by population.
Results: Participants exhibited learning of both dataset skills and astronomy content, indicating that dataset skills can be learned through this astronomy activity. Participants exhibited gains in both recall and synthesis questions, indicating learning is non-sequential. Female undergraduate students exhibited lower levels of learning than other populations.
Conclusions: Implications of the study include a stronger dataset focus in post-secondary STEM education and among science educators, and the need for further investigation into how instructors can ameliorate the challenges faced by female undergraduate students.